A bandeau bikini top suits a fuller bust about as well as a scarf suits a coat hook, so if you're a D cup or over, think twice before you commit. If you're smaller up top, or you've got a longer torso that needs the eye drawn, this is a lovely top, and I'd never tell you otherwise.
What you need to check before you buy, every single time, is the elastic and the fastening. A lot of these are sold as one piece with no ties at all, just a strip of elastic round the ribcage, and on paper that sounds fine until you're wading out past your waist and the whole thing starts its slow march south. Look for one with a tie at the back, or better still a halter strap you can add or take off depending on what you're doing that day. Check the cup lining too, some of them have none at all, which is grand for sunbathing and less grand for anything that involves movement. And look at where the top sits on the body in the photos, not just the model's shape but the proportion, because a bandeau that sits high and tight on one body will sit loose and gaping on another with a different ribcage.
What it clashes with is anything that already asks a lot of your shoulders and chest. Pair it with a high waisted bottom and it tends to work, because the eye has somewhere else to land, but pair it with something skimpy on both halves and you lose the shape of the thing entirely, it just reads as fabric. I'd also leave the heavy gold jewellery at home with this one, a chunky necklace sitting right across the top of a bandeau just competes with it, and competing with your own bikini is never a good look. A cover up with a big collar does the same thing, it crowds the neckline when the whole point of a bandeau is a clean, open line across the collarbone.
Where it's the wrong choice is anywhere with real water pressure, waves, a pool with a current, children who want to be thrown about. It wasn't built for that and no amount of double knotting changes it.
Get the fit right though, with proper ties and a lining that holds its shape, and there's nothing nicer for lying flat on a lounger with no strap marks to show for it afterwards.
Green Bandeau Bikinis We Rate
Underwired BikinisPoolside Ready Green Bandeau Underwired Bikinis
Floral Bandeau Bikinis We Rate
Handpicked Cut Out Bandeau Bikinis We Keep Coming Back To
Cream Bandeau Bikini Tops Edited Down to the Best
The Best Looking Brown Padded Bandeau Bikinis Out There
Brown Bandeau Bikinis That Feel Great to Wear
The Only Brown Bandeau Bikini Tops You Need to See
Our Pick of the Best Blue Bandeau BikinisAlso worth a lookBlack BikinisThe thing nobody tells you about a black bikini is that it doesn't stay black.See the collections →
Black BikinisFinding the Best Black Strapless Bandeau Bikinis
Black BikinisBlack Padded Bandeau Bikinis Picked by Us
Black BikinisHandpicked Black Bandeau Bikinis We Keep Coming Back To
Black BikinisBlack Bandeau Bikini Bottoms We’re Adding to Basket
Black BikinisBlack Bandeau Bikini Tops We’d Happily Wear on Repeat
Our Top Bandeau Bikini Tops Right Now
The Only Bandeau Halter Bikinis You Need to See
Poolside Ready Bandeau High Waisted Bikinis
Underwired BikinisThe Bandeau Underwired Bikinis We’re Eyeing Up This SeasonAlso worth a lookUnderwired BikinisThe first thing I do with an underwired bikini top is pull the wire away from the fabric…See the collections →
Our Shortlist of Beach Bandeau Bikinis
Finding the Best Bandeau Bikinis
